Certified Nutritional Testing

Dawn Dolan

Food – friend or foe?

May 18, 2018

So many questions arise these days about what to eat and what not to eat. How did such a natural thing as eating become so complicated? Opinions are not the only thing to vary widely on ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’. Research studies and data can also give conflicting conclusions. To make things even more complicated, many people are finding that they have allergies or intolerances to foods that they once could eat without problems.

As humans, we are always trying to come up with ideas on how to do things in a better or more efficient way. Sometimes these ‘good ideas’ backfire. Many times the problems that we are facing today are the results of a ‘good solution’ to a problem of yesterday. We are not always able to predict the future consequences of our actions.

A couple of examples in the area of food come immediately to mind. One example is that of the changes in the wheat production in the U.S. a few decades ago. It seemed like a very good idea to cross breed the varieties of wheat to get a larger yield per acre and have thicker stalks for ease of reaping. This, however, produced wheat with a much higher gluten and gliadin content than our bodies were used to consuming, thus leading to many digestive disturbances for so many people.

Another example is the widespread use of glyphosate based products for pest control for our crops. When the glyphosate itself was thought to be fairly non-toxic in the beginning, no consideration was given to the extremely toxic metabolites that it decomposes into and how that affects our microbiome that controls most of our digestive processes. Repairing this damage in our bodies is critical for our overall health and wellbeing.

As civilization advances, it is wise to remember that many of the ‘old ways’ that have been employed successfully for many centuries need to be looked at carefully with changes made on a small enough scale to allow time for those possible ‘unforeseen consequences’ to make their appearance.

Dawn Dolan, MA, ACN is an advocate for integrative healthcare, consulting with medical doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, psychotherapists, body workers, massage therapists and other healthcare professionals. She can be reached by email at office@rejuvandwellbeing.com.